The "Job" of Being a Chiro Student

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Hello all, and hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day weekend
as much as I did. I was lucky enough to spend the weekend at Indian
Rocks Beach with friends, a little perk of attending the Florida
campus.

Sunset at Indian Rocks
Beach

It was back to work today (Monday). Started the day cracking
open Dr. Yochum's book, The Essentials of Radiology, and
ended the day closing a packet on antiarrhythmic drugs provided by
Dr. David Seaman. I know I've mentioned before to make sure to keep
up with your classes, and today I had to practice what I preach.
Anything worth having in the world requires hard work and
dedication and a DC degree is no different. I think it's important
for all prospective students to realize the commitment required for
this degree.

Dr. Joe Stiefel, our Florida campus dean, spoke at our new
student orientation and stressed the "rigorous" nature of our
education, and the man was not lying. The program we embark on as
DC students is like no other education that I personally, have been
a part of. My degree and education at FSU did a great job to
prepare me for a lot of classes in our first phase ("basic science"
phase), but my first trimester at NUHS taught me how to study.

It may seem that I'm harping on this whole studying thing, but
hear me out. What we are doing is a job, and why not attack it in
the same manner you would at any other work place? I just think of
it as working a regular 9 to 5 (the usual class schedule) and
having to be prepared for each day at the office. Besides, from
what I've been told and have seen from other docs, the workload
doesn't lighten once we graduate, so prepare yourselves now.

This past week, we welcomed back Dr. Bob 'Capt. Right-Sided
Brain' Humphreys to the Florida campus. Dr. H is the neurology guru
at National's Lombard campus, and last week he was back in Florida
to teach us live and in person.

Part of our education down here in Florida is via interactive
classrooms, where we join in with the help of cameras and
microphones to lectures going on in Lombard. Neuro and EENT (Eyes,
Ears, Nose, and Throat) E&M classes are taught by Dr. H, and
last week he taught them from sunny St. Pete, Florida. Guy and I
had the opportunity to sit and have lunch with Dr. H while he was
here, and had a great discussion on the importance of right-brain
activity as practitioners.

The function of the right side of the brain is to add and
understand the emotional component of every day living. As
physicians, it's crucial to pick up on emotional cues from our
patients. Much of the input we get from those entering our offices,
and the input our patients get from us as well as, is non-verbal.
As practicing doctors, we must be able to sit and have a sincere
conversation with our patients and colleagues, so every now and
again it is important to set the books aside and go have a
conversation with someone. In my experiences, having a cold one at
a bar, and striking up a conversation with someone doing the same
has always been a rewarding learning experience (as well as a good
excuse to head to the bar for a beer).

So in summation…study hard, and drink a beer with a stranger (ha
ha ha).

All you Tampa Bay Lightning fans keep your heads up! We had a
heck of a season, and hopefully next year we'll just have to worry
about our opponents and not the referee staff as well! I hope
everyone enjoyed their 4-day weekend, and keep your heads on a
swivel; midterms are creeping around the corner.